Chinese Proverbs

The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out.
He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them.
The greatest victory, is the battle not fought.
The best soldiers are not warlike.
If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
I was angered, for I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.
If luck comes, who comes not? If luck comes not, who comes?
The more you sweat in Peacetime, The less you bleed during War.
Better do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense.
Heaven lent you a soul Earth will lend a grave.
Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.
Of all the thirty-six alternatives, running away is best.
Behind every able man, there are always other able men.
To talk goodness is not good...Only to do it is.
There is no one to sweep a common hall.
Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.
Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.
The old horse may die in someone's keeping.
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
To teach is to learn.
A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.
The one legged never stumble.
The pine stays green in winter...Wisdom in hardship.
Those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot.
If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words.
Never do anything standing that you can do sitting, or anything sitting that you can do lying down.
One never needs their humor as much a when they argue with a fool.
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Experience is a comb which nature gives to men when they are bald.
With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
Man who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait very, very long time.
Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.
He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes.
If a man does only what is required of him, he is a slave. If a man does more than is required of him, he is a free man.
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.
If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not more than its fill from a river.
While one milks the ram, the other holds under the sieve.
Every day cannot be a feast of lanterns.
With money you are a dragon; with no money, a worm.
Love your neighbors, but don't pull down the fence.
Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think.
Take a second look... It costs you nothing.
A murder may be forgiven, an affront never.
Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.
A needle is not sharp at both ends.
It is not necessary to light a candle to the sun.
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
It is not the knowing that is difficult, but the doing.
Life is a dream walking death is a going home.
Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends whom we choose.
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead.
Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.
A young branch takes on all the bends that one gives it.
If you see in your wine the reflection of a person not in your range of vision, don't drink it.
Not wine...men intoxicate themselves; Not vice...men entice themselves.
There are two perfect men; one dead, and the other unborn.
If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of he game, the stakes, and the quitting time.
Men in the game are blind to what men looking on see clearly.
Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
The tongue like a sharp knife...Kills without drawing blood.
Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the greater one.
Going to law is losing a cow for the sake of a cat.
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.
The second best time, is today.
If you want happiness for an hour--take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day-- go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month--get married.
If you want happiness for a year--inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime--help someone else.
When planning for a year, plant corn.
When planning for a decade, plant trees.
When planning for life, train and educate people.
If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain.
If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees.
If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.
The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying a way small stones.
Climb mountains to see lowlands.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
I dreamed a thousand new paths...I woke and walked my old one.
When you want to test the depths of a stream, don't use both feet.
Enough shovels of earth -- a mountain. Enough pails of water -- a river.
Men trip not on mountains they trip on molehills.
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.
When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
When you bow, bow low.
He who governs by his moral excellence may be compared to the Pole star which abides in its place while all other stars bow towards it.
Govern a family as you would cook a small fish -- very gently.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.
The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water moulds itself to the pitcher.
When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.
It's in plain view that we will gopher the goal.
Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
A dog in a kennel barks at his fleas; a dog hunting does not notice them.
When the butcher dies, do you think we shall eat our pork with the bristles on?
He who could foresee affairs three days in advance would be rich for thousands of years.
A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home.
A man without a smiling face must not open shop.
To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art.
Virtue never dwells alone; it always has neighbours.
Small men think they are small; great men never know they are great.
The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory.
The Gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities.
One man will carry two buckets of water for his own use,
Two men will carry one for their joint use;
Three men will carry none for anybody's use.
Blessings do not come in pairs; misfortunes never come singly.
He who would rise in the world should veil his ambition with the forms of humanity.
Only he that has traveled the road knows where the holes are deep.
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
Prepare for calamity not yet in bud.
The first time it is a favour, the second time a rule.
The unlucky doctor treats the head of a disease, the lucky doctor its tail.
If you want to know your past - look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future - look into your present actions.
If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
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